Mazda Exec Hints at Return of a Turbocharged Rotary Engine

Mazda Motor Corp. continues to feed the buzz over the potential of reviving its unique rotary engine, this time with an executive touting the benefits of a turbocharged unit.

The carmaker hasn’t sold a rotary-powered model since it phased out the RX-8 sports car in 2012. Its last turbocharged rotary ended with the final RX-7 in 2002.

But, Tetsushi Marutani, Mazda drivetrain and powertrain assistant manager, tells Australia's Motoring magazine that a turbo-rotary would be "good." He points out that a turbocharger or compressor would help boost low-end torque, which has been a problem for the most recent naturally aspirated rotary engines.

Last autumn, Mazda confirmed that an engineering team was working on a next-generation rotary engine and already had made strides to improve fuel economy, cold-start emissions, reliability and torque. At the time, however, company officials said additional gains would be needed to move the program forward.

Marutani says the engine still is under development. But he declined to provide any information about the engine’s performance, what vehicle it would be used in or when it might be introduced.

Others have suggested a 2018 launch to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the original rotary-powered RX-7. Last year’s sleek RX-Vision concept car was powered by a rotary engine teamed with Mazda’s “Skyactiv” technologies, which includes direct injection and, in some cases, turbocharging. The carmaker didn’t provide any technical information about the RX-Vision’s rotary engine.